Let's See What Happens
by Fernwolf Era
Summary: [Pre-PP] After years of protecting his home town from various ghosts, Danny Fenton and his friends are facing new challenges. From new and old ghosts alike, parents who are as dense as they are relentless, harsh scrutiny from their classmates, the conflicting public opinion, to the lasting evidence of their 'extra-circular activities'. What has changed? What is to come? Let's see.
1. Chapter 1: Hello World

Hi there! Welcome to my first ever Fanfic!

Don't get my wrong, I write _alot_ on my own time, but I've never written anything that wasn't purely my own work. This has been a fun exercise, even more so since its for one of my favorite series from when I was a kid. Danny Phantom was such a great series when I was younger and it was a true shame it was cancelled before it really had a chance. After seeing some of the creators still putting out their own fics on the series and with Butch Hartman putting out his own ideas so enthusasitcally for the public recently, I've felt quite motivated to put pen to paper with my own take on the DP universe. This will be placed pre-Phantom Planet, although I remain undecided if it will take place any earlier than that at this time. We'll just have to see what happens. (Haha, I crack myself up) Big, BIG shout out to KitKat12499, who wrote the fic "Mr. Lancer's Mistake" a few years back. Her fic really got my creative gears turning, and with her permission I had originally intended LSWH to be a rewrite of that fic. However, as time as passed and the creative path took its course, it seems as though this fic will merely start similarly and have similar topics within it but will have a different ending. I still encourage everyone to give her fic a read, as it still has lots of potential!

Anyway, I'm done stalling lol. Enjoy!

[I do not own Danny Phantom. All characters and details from the original series belong to Nickelodeon Inc. & Butch Hartman.]

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Chapter 1: Hello World

Thin clouds drifted across the early morning sky above the sleepy town of Amity Park, like soft white brush strokes across a pastel-washed blue as the sun slowly rose to bring about the start of a new day. Birds began to sing in greeting to its warm rays and the peaceful day seemed just as it would be for any other town in the U.S. From above, the only strangeness that could be seen was that of a tall town house not far from the local highschool.

It was a dark red brick building with many windows, just as all the others that stood to either side of it, but on its roof sat a large domed structure nearly double the size of the town house itself, adorned with satellite dishes and antennas wherever one could fit. On the side of the building was an oversized bright orange sign with vibrant green letters announcing "Fenton Works" to all who passed, but for those who weren't sure if the sign meant the eccentric metal addition on top or the brick structure beneath it, the sign curled around to point at the side of the town house. Couldn't risk anyone getting confused about just which part of the building the over large sign could be referring to, right?

Some would think that this was the only strange thing about this town, so long as they only looked at it from a satellite, but to the inhabitants of Amity Park, the Fenton Works building was probably one of the only normal sights of the town. For if one remained in the area long enough, easily just twelve or so hours would do, they would have a chance to witness sights and events that had slowly become a norm for the local citizens.

Take this morning for example. Most students began making their way to school via buses, driving, or simply walking. However one such student could be found still sleeping in his room, oblivious to the normal bustle that was starting in the world below his second story window. What could be strange about that, you ask? Give it a few minutes.

The first bell for school would be ringing within the hour and this young teen had yet to even rouse from his slumber, that was until a series of hard knocks came from his closed bedroom door. Startled from his sleep by the noise, young Danny Fenton lurched upright as he attempted to jump out of bed to confront the intruder, but only succeeded in tangling himself in his blankets and hitting his bedroom floor with a loud thump!

"Danny!" a voice called through the door, its sternness not covering its underlying warmth as Jazz, the oldest of the Fenton children, called again, "Hurry up! You're going to be late again!"

A groan escaped Danny as he rolled his head to look up at the still closed door, "Alright!" he called back in a sleep-gruff voice, "I'm up, Jazz. I'm up!" Wriggling his way out of his prison of warm blankets, he pushed himself to his feet with a yawn, stretching his arms above his head and rolling his shoulders. A series of satisfying cracks followed and he sighed, feeling some of the stiffness leave him as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Twisting, he looked up at his flashing clock on his nightstand blearily.

6:42 a.m.

"Oh, crap!" he gasped, scrambling to the closet and grabbing the first clothes that would work and rushed to the bathroom. It normally took twenty minutes to walk to school. If Jazz drove, which at this point it seemed more likely that she'd left already if he had to guess, it would have taken only ten minutes. Thankfully, those weren't the only options for him.

Showering in record-setting time, Danny scrubbed at his hair with a towel before making himself intangible and allowing the rest of the water to run right through him. With the practice of someone who found themselves rushing more often than not, he managed to brush his teeth, run a hand through his messy black hair, and dress himself in no time. Finished, he ran back to his room to grab his bag, hanging his damp towel on the door and pulling an oversized red sweater-jacket on as he went.

Slipping the bag on, he snatched up his cellphone and sent a message in the group chat he had with his two best friends, Tucker Foley and Sam Manson:

Danny: Morning. Woke up late. Meet you there.

Not waiting for a response, the young man turned to face his bedroom window with a determined glint in his eyes. What very few people knew about young Danny was that he was hiding a very big secret. One that defied the logic of most sciences and set him apart from his peers and foes alike. Two years ago, he and his friends were messing around in his parents lab when he stumbled into something that changed his life, and that of all who lived in Amity Park forever.

A flash of light filled the room as Danny felt the chilly energy wash over him. Clenching his fists, a wide smile spread across his face as he leapt forward. Making himself intangible, he passed straight through the brick wall and into the open air beyond the window. The smell of city air and the bustle of people making their morning commutes greeted him as he returned to his solid from and shot up into the air like a monochrome arrow.

'Hopefully Jazz told Mom and Dad I left already,' he thought, the wind sweeping through his hair as he soared over the city.

Oh yes, did Danny have a secret. During most of his days, he was seen as the aloof and antisocial teen struggling with the hardships of the average student. Picked on by his peers regularly, he was also often besieged by consistent punishments from his teachers for not completing class work or, more notably, his lackluster attendance to classes. From the outside, the raven haired teen seemed well on the path to becoming a below-average graduate with a less than thrilling future. But when spirits descended on Amity Park, raining down disasters in the form of meat storms to throwing everyone into some modern-day Egyptian regime or even all-consuming plant monsters that blanketed the city, Danny became something else.

After the Accident, he had gained something truly remarkable. He was able to change himself on a molecular level, the flash of light sweeping over him, granting him the strength and power of those ghosts that terrorized his home. Like now, his hair was a mop of silver white, unearthly green eyes, matching the silver gloves, boots, and belts over his black jumpsuit. On his chest was emblazoned a silver stylized 'D', a gift from Sam to help emphasize his name in this form. He was none other than the ghostboy, Danny Phantom. The young specter who fought to protect the people of Amity Park from invaders from the Ghost Zone, a realm mirroring the real world but serving as a home for various ghosts and spirits when they weren't out causing trouble.

Although the young hero was not always welcomed by the residents of his home town, many people cheered and waved at him as he flew past. But to his discouragement, just has many scowled or shouted rude obscenities at him. Of course, that didn't include the various Ghost Hunters who both took residence in Amity Park or were stationed locally from a national branch of Anti-Ghost Security, the Guys in White. All of whom hunted Phantom just as fervently as those ghosts who came to wreak havoc on the real world. More and more frequently over the years, he would be forced to fight off various ghost hunters while stopping whatever ploy the newest visitor from the Ghost Zone was attempting next.

With the help of Tuck, Sam, and Jazz, Danny had succeed to find a tentative balance between his human and ghost lives, while also keeping his identity secret from everyone else, including his own parents. The Fentons were notorious Ghost Hunters in Amity Park, especially since their Ghost Portal was the first man-made door into the Ghost Zone. They were also enthusiastic in their efforts to capture and rid their world of any and all ghosts, which unfortunately included Danny's ghost-half, Phantom. For obvious reasons, Danny and his allies worked overtime to keep them from finding out his identity and dismantling him "molecule by molecule".

Soon enough, Casper High appeared below, its tall brick and concrete walls cool in the early light of day. Careful to avoid any unwanted eyes, Danny descended to a secluded corner of the school, shifting back to his human form before reaching the ground. Landing softly on his feet and ignoring the smell of the dumpster he'd chosen to take refuge behind, he began walking into the school. Thankfully, none of the usual suspects of ghosts had made an appearance this morning, giving him the slim chance to get to his first class on time.

Stretching his stride so that he didn't have to jog, Danny hurried to the front door and pointedly ignored any eye contact with the other students who made their way into the school. Noticing them, he did make a point to slouch as he walked, ducking his head a bit and letting his shoulders fall some. Over the past year, he'd gotten a good bit taller, now reaching his dad's shoulder instead of his chest. This, along with all of his active ghost hunting and training in his human form, made his appearance a far fling from the slim adolescence he'd been when he'd first gained his ghost powers.

These changes made it easier to fight off his opponents but did little to help hide his identity when people started to notice the changes in Phantom physique. There was little he could do to change what he looked like in his ghost form since the only changes that stayed were small additions, like the utility belt Sam had made him nearly a year ago and a pair of weapons-belts that crossed his chest. Anything like a jacket or loose pants wouldn't appear between changes, beside the fact that their added bulk made fighting harder on Phantom. Leaving him only the jumpsuit, which left far too little to the imagination for his liking. Not to mention that this forced him to conceal any changes in his body in his human form.

Catching a glance of his reflection in one of the tall windows, Danny frowned at how windswept his hair had become from flying. Running a hand through the tangled black locks, he turned his attention to the rest of his reflection. Eyeing the clothes he'd plucked from his closet that morning, he was relieved that they were normal after not paying attention as he'd made the selection. It was a variation of what he'd been wearing for the majority of the last two years: Oversized dark blue jeans and red sneakers with a white short-sleeved shirt that fit much more snuggly than it once had, much to his chagrin. A baggie and worn red jacket hung loosely from his shoulders and bunched at his wrists, effectively covering the obvious changes in his growing body and any other evidence of his 'extra-curricular activities' from prying eyes.

The one thing he couldn't change were the dark shadows under his blue eyes that never seemed to fade no matter how much sleep he got. Most of his nights were spent cramming homework and studying around the evening patrol of the city. Not including the various ghost fights that occurred or the additional training that he, Tuck, and Sam have been doing as well. It left him with little sleep each night, not to mention his homework being unfinished unless Sam or Tuck helped keep him awake to do it. More than once, Sam had offered to cover up the evidence of his lack of sleep with makeup, but Danny refused each time. He couldn't stand the idea of the added torture from Dash if he and the other A-listers every found out he wore makeup to school.

These days, the trio of friends stayed at each other's houses routinely, which made it easier to help keep one another from getting into as much trouble with school and their parents. One night a week they would stay at their own homes to appease their parents, who were not overly pleased with how close the trio had grown since their freshman year. It wasn't that they disapproved, but were more concerned about how healthy such a "close relationship that allowed little room for others" was for their adolescent children. However, their parents did see the support the teens gave each other, helping one another study, do homework, and even get each other up to go to school in the mornings. Deciding it was for the best, they didn't fight to separate the trio so long as they kept their grades up and they weren't late to school too often.

Sighing to himself, Danny climbed the steps of the school's entrance and slipped into the door just as the warning bell rang. With five minutes to spare, he made his way through the halls with his head down, hoping to avoid any unnecessary attention that would make him late to class. It must be my lucky day, Danny thought in rueful disbelief when he successfully reached his locker uninhibited and greeted by his two waiting friends.

"Hey man!" Tucker turned to smile at him as he approached. Over the years, Tuck hadn't changed much other than getting a bit taller and starting to grow a thin shadow of his first beard on his chin. Thin metal glasses resting on his nose, Tuck still wore his signature red hat, yellow long-sleeved shirt, and cargo pants filled with various gadgets and ghost hunting weapons. The only other noticeable difference was how he was more filled out than the average techno-geek, but not enough for much comment, much to his joint relief and dismay. It would have been hard explaining how fit he was when everyone thought all he did was play video games and mess around with tech stuff.

"Morning Danny," Sam smiled warmly at him, her usual rich plum lipstick a contrast to her white teeth and pale skin. She was wearing her usual outfit, combat boots, leggings, black plaid skirt, and tank top underneath a thin jacket and all in black with various dark accenting. Her dark hair had gotten longer, now laying on her shoulders like a spill of ink. Now though, she was taller than Tuck and was beginning to fill out much more than she was their freshman year-Not that Danny would notice those particular details of his friend. Ignoring the blush that tried to make itself known on his face, he certainly didn't notice how her curves were much more apparent in her leggings and skirt than the sweats she often wore to bed when they stayed over one another's houses.

"Morning guys," Danny greeted them with a smile of his own. He couldn't help the relief he felt at being back with them, even if they were only separated for the night.

"Lovebirds," Tuck coughed into his fist none-too casually with a knowing smirk on his face.

"We are not lovebirds!" he and Sam snapped in unison, but the harshness wasn't in their voices as they smiled at their friend. A blush had definitely crawled onto Danny's cheeks as his gaze flicked back to Sam's, an equally embarrassed look on her face before the three of them burst into laughter.

With quick fingers, Danny popped the lock on his locker and began exchanging the books in his bag for the ones he would need for their first few classes. Sam and Tuck promptly did the same with their own things, reaching over to pull their textbooks and notes from his locker. They had a system. Danny's locker had their earliest classes, English, Trig, and World History. Sam's had Anatomy and P.E. forms. Tuck's had their Spanish things. Both Sam and Tuck's lockers also had extra equipment if needed, like extra Fentonthermoses, Spectordeflectors, and changes of clothes. Tuck's locker also had a selection of inconspicuous anti-ghost weapons that he had built over the past year, that way they could stop stealing things from the Fentonworks Lab.

Once they each had their things, Danny led the way down the hall to their first class, chatting amicably about the boring yet stressful night each of them had at home. None of them like to be separated these days, knowing that doing so left them exposed. Too often, they had been isolated during ghost attacks, as a part schemes cooked up by the various Ghost Hunters, or captured by their ever malicious Mayor: Vlad Masters. The nefarious halfa had thrown evil design after another at the trip, going as far as to manipulate other ghosts into kidnapping and separating them in the ghost zone. They managed to free themselves with the help of Jazz and a few friendly ghosts, but the teens were wary of ever risking another such incident. Of course, their worries were only elevated when the number of ghosts entering the real world steadily increased.

Unfortunately for Danny, the luck he'd had all morning seemed to have run its course when they were just a few steps away from their first period class. A heavy shoulder slammed into him, sending him haphazardly into the lockers next to the open classroom door.

"Watch where your walking, Fentoenail," Dash sneered loudly, he pushed past them with a smug expression as his best friend Kwan laughed loudly.

Rubbing his harassed shoulder, Danny glared after Dash as he disappeared into the classroom. It would have been so easy to fight off his daily bullying and harsh words. It would have been a snooze for his ghost-half, but these days it would have been just as easy for his human-half to put up a fight against Dash. They were nearly the same height now and Danny had far more muscle than when he was a freshman. Coupled with his experience in hundreds of life and death conflicts, he would have had the upper hand over his perpetual bully. But it would have been far too noticeable for a 'loser' like Danny Fenton to start throwing punches back at Dash Baxter, let alone having the advantage over the Quarterback. If anything, Dash's steady bombardment only made it easier to distance his human-self from his ghost-half, making the gap in their personas bigger from the average observer's perspective.

What Danny didn't notice were the curious covert glances he received as he righted himself from his tumble into the lockers, standing nearly completely straight with a look of resigned indignation. Rolling his sore shoulder, a bit of his proud posture as a hero showed through his typical misanthropic guise. Even if none of the observers knew what was so different about him, which none of them did, one thing was consistent amongst all of their thoughts: There was something strange about that Fenton kid, and it had nothing to do with his crazy parents. These strange moments of defiance and the weird relationship he had with his two friends made him a topic of gossip as their Junior year began. Surrounded by unspoken questions and suspicion, he had become the mystery of Casper High.

Gentle hands pressed against his shoulder, "Come on, Danny," Sam said as she continued to glare at the classroom door, "Forget that emptied headed jerk. He's not worth you time anyway."

"She's right," Tuck chimed in boldly, "Don't let that guy make you late on one of the few days you were actually able to make it on time."

Smile replacing the dark recalcitrance in his features, Danny nodded as he relaxed a bit, "Your right, guys." Turning back to the door, he followed them into the room, "Thanks," he said just as the bell for first period rang, announcing the start of the day

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You made it to the end! Fantastic!

There are more chapters coming out, I promise! I'll be posting the first three chapters to begin with, and all chapters after Ch. 4 will be released on a weekly/biweekly basis. This depends greatly on my other work (as I do work & write for a living) so it will not be able to take as much of my time as I would like it to be able too. Fear not! It will be worth the wait, or so help me the sky is pink!

Jokes aside, thanks for giving LSWH a read! Please R&R, I'd love to hear what you think!


	2. Chapter 2: A Day in the Life (Prt 1)

Hello again! Its been so long! (Not like I posted these on the same day or anything!)

My bad humor aside, welcome to chapter 2. For anyone who may have already commented on inconsistent structuring with editing tools (punctuation, underlining, italicizing) I have learned my lesson! I do a lot of editing on a separate doc before copying onto this platform, and unbeknownst to me, it does not transfer consistently. A process I'm certain is not aided by my lack of technological prowess (Sue me, I'm just old enough to play the "I'm too old for this new-fangled shit" card lol). Also, this fic is rated M for potential tom-foolery I may come up with, as well as swearing cuz I do that quite a bit. I will try to warn y'all if I throw you a slightly bigger curve ball than standard violence/inappropriate jokes/what-have-you, but above all I would like to maintain the spirit of the original series, so things maybe more of a 'read-between the lines' in most cases.

I know! I know! I can feel the impatience. Go on then, enjoy the next chapter!

[I do not own Danny Phantom. Any characters and details from the original series belongs to Nickelodeon Inc. & Butch Hartman.]

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Chapter 2: A Day in the Life (Part 1)

"In the nick of time, Ms. Manson, Mr. Foley," a voice stated flatly over the murmuring students from the front of the room. Mr. Lancer glanced up at them from where he sat at his desk, where he was organizing a stack of papers that surely promised extra work for students. Danny didn't miss the obvious double take from the balding Vice-Principle as he came into view, his surprise at seeing Danny alongside his friends apparent in his features.

"Well, if it isn't the elusive Mr. Fenton," Lancer commented a little more loudly, gaining the attention of the class, ''nice of you to present yourself on time today."

All eyes turned to Danny. Some curious and nervous, some uncertain as others were prying. They weighed down on him, making him feel exposed and defenseless under all the scrutiny. Ducking his head, Danny trudged over to his desk with Sam and Tucker close behind. Knowing them, they were shooting back equally flat or challenging glares at the other students, but that didn't keep him from pulling his baggy sleeves over his hands in an attempt to hide any of their skin from sight.

"What's the matter, Fentina?" Dash chortled loudly from across the sea of watching students, "Afraid of a little attention, loser?"

Acting like a hammer on ice, his words shattered the silence of the classroom as several students erupted in laughter. Others began adding in their own jibes, going as far to hurl insults at Tuck and Sam about their motivation for their outraged glares. Danny turned a glare of his own on the hardwood surface of his desk, dropping his bag on the ground as he sat and began taking out his things. It was an effort to not let himself burn a hole through the time worn surface as more laughter came in response to Sam throwing her bag on her desk next to his.

"The Pit and the Pendulum, people! Enough!" Lancer yelled over his students, his voice as stern as solid stone, "If all of you are so energetic this morning, I better have every single assignment I'd given yesterday in my hand in the next ten minutes."

A chorus of groans rose up from the students, setting them to digging through their belongings for the homework, but also effectively taking the attention off of Danny and his friends. Feeling some of the tension ease out of him, Danny pulled out his homework with a muted sigh of relief. Not only was he back to being metaphorically invisible to his fellow classmates, but he actually had the assignment to hand in, something he was silently proud of since it had been one of the few times he'd done without Tuck or Sam's encouragement.

The sound of rustling papers filled the room as students passed their work forward, Lancer walked slowly across the room as he gathered each stack and read the names of each student. Finally reaching the last row, he was just rattling off names when he paused. Brow arching high, his eyes rose to meet Danny's. With an apprehensive drop of his stomach, Danny prayed silently for Lancer to continue as though nothing had happened.

Per usual, no one answered his small hope, "What a surprise," the teacher's voice was borderline cynical, "Not only have we been graced with your presence but a completed assignment turned in on time as well. Bravo, Mr. Fenton."

Again, all eyes turned toward him, low chuckles and murmurs rising instantly. With an effort, Danny ignored the hot flush he could feel crawling up his neck. '_Why do you always have to put me on the spot like that?'_ He thought resentfully, shooting Lancer a hard glare for half a heartbeat before turning to look out the window. Leaning on a closed fist, he let his hair and back form a barrier against the insistent gossip. Like Sam had said earlier, they weren't worth his time and energy. If they wanted to make a big deal of something so trivial, more power to them so long as they left him alone.

After another brief pause, he listened as Lancer began walking back across the room, "Alright class, we have a lot to get through today, but before we get started, I have an announcement to make."

Frowning, Danny watched a bird flutter past the window as he felt fresh worry blossom within him. What could this be about? Was Vlad enacting some new requirements of students? Or was this another life-changing test like the C.A.T. exam from their freshman year? Closing his eyes briefly, he scolded himself fretting so much. It was probably just some major project that Lancer had in store for them. He, Sam, and Tuck would just have to knock it out in what little free time they could scrounge together.

"With the constant presence of various ghosts in recent years, the school board has deemed it necessary to implement a course that will help to educate students in the proper response to these entities," Eyes drifting back open and catching sightlessly on a slow moving cloud, Danny felt his frown deepen. Maybe he hadn't been too far off with that Vlad theory after all. "In two weeks, Casper High will begin its first Anti-Ghost Self-Defence Class. During the course, students will be required to learn about the basic science behind the supernatural, as well as how best to protect one's self in the event of an attack."

A white sheet printed with dark ink slid onto Danny's desk, the movement pulling his gaze to it. With numb fingers, he picked up the sheet and read over the page without really taking in a word of it. "This course will be replacing the Free Period for all students starting Monday, the twentieth," Another chorus of groans and some protests came at that. Lancer merely waited for them to quite down before continuing, "As for the teacher for this specialized course, it will be none other than Dr. Maddie Fenton, who has graciously volunteered for the position."

_'What?'_ Danny thought numbly, feeling the blood drain from his face in an instant, '_Mom! Since when?!'_ Reflexiley, he'd whipped around in his seat to stare up at the pacing teacher. Several accusatory scowls were shot at him from around the room as low grumbling was shared amongst the students. With a jolt, Danny ducked his head and focused his attention on the sheet of paper in his hands. It outlined the details of the new course, explaining the necessity of it and what it would cover. Sure enough, under the course name, printed in dark ink was 'Maddie Fenton, PhD.'

When had this happened? How had they let something like this get past them until now? His parents must have hidden it from him as a surprise, but usually they were terrible at keeping secrets from him and Jazz. Ever since they were kids, they had been able to guess what their Christmas presents would be because their dad simply couldn't keep from excitedly dropping obvious hints. But this was much bigger than a new toy or pair of socks.

This was _dangerous_. For the students and the school. For Danny himself. For his friends and his family. It was already bad enough that _he_ exposed everyone to the threat of ghosts as Phantom, but it was going to be even worse if his mom was wandering the school. She was much more skilled in catching ghosts, and if either of his parents had a chance of capturing his ghost-half, it would be her. Plus, it would be nearly impossible to go ghost with her around! What if a ghost like Overgrowth or Nocturn attacked? Even Skulker or Technis could be dangerous if he wasn't able to go ghost! A shiver ran through him as his mind conjured up all the ways this situation could end badly.

A small black, bat-shaped eraser bounced across his desk, forcing his attention away from his turbulent thoughts. Blinking at it for a moment, he turned to meet Sam's concerned gaze with a raised brow. She raised both eyebrows at him with a frown, flicking her gaze at his hands before meeting his eyes again. Danny grimaced and sighed silently, thinking she meant the news about his mom. Frown deepening, Sam subtly shook her head before shooting him a hard look and mouthed, 'Hands.'

Confused, Danny followed her glance to his hands only to have the breath catch in his throat. Patches of frost were spreading slowly over his fingers and curling thin patterns over the paper in his grasp. Reeling upright in his seat, he shot Sam a frantic look as he dropped the sheet on the desk. Her hands were raised slightly, trying to calm him while also hiding herself from Lancer's view. Glancing uncertainly in the direction the Vice Principal stood speaking, she chewed on her lip, clearly trying to think as quickly as he himself was.

Turning his attention back to his hands, he began rubbing them together under his desk. Maybe if he warmed them, the frost would dissipate. Remembering what had happened the first time his ice powers had manifested, Danny doubted this would help anymore than it had back then but he didn't have many other options here. Taking a slow breath and be sure that it didn't carry any of the cold that built in his core, he focused on removing the frost from his skin. To his surprise, it came off easily and within a few moments he sat staring down at his now normal hands.

Lifting his gaze to Sam's again, he spread his fingers to show her the distinct lack of frost on them. The worried furrow of her brows mirrored his own as their eyes met again, 'Are you ok? What happened?' she mouthed.

Danny shook his head dazedly. 'I don't know,' he mouthed back.

"Mr. Fenton, Ms. Manson. Is there a problem over there?"

Both teens snapped their attention to the front of the class, where Lancer stood with his hands on his hips and frowning at the two teens. Instinctively, Danny shoved his hands under his desk to hide them from view in case there was any frost left on them. Seeing all of the other looks they were getting, he felt some of the color returning to his features, for once making him thankful for his embarrassed flush.

"N-No! Not at all, Mr. Lancer!" Sam stammered with a timid smile.

"Then you and Mr. Fenton have nothing to share with the class?" Lancer asked in a doubtful tone, clearly knowing that they hadn't been paying attention.

"U-Uh…" Sam shared another panicked look with Danny before returning to their teacher's gaze once more, "Just-Uh...That we think this poem is actually kind of cool!"

"Is that so…" Lancer mused, brow rising slowly as he continued to stare at the two. A steely glint flashed in his eyes, "Then you wouldn't mind reading the rest of Tennyson's poem, would you Ms. Manson?"

"Not at all," Sam nearly sighed, shooting Danny a vexed grimace. The latter gave her an apologetic shrug, then mouthed, 'I'll owe you a grilled tofu sandwich.'

The look she shot him as she turned in her seat was a clear, 'Damn right you will.' Taking up the open text in front of her, she used a black nailed finger to keep her place as Sam began to read allowed:

"One equal temper of heroic hearts,

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

* * *

The class finished without further incident, much to Danny's relief. It had been so long since he'd last been able to sit through his first period without arriving late or missing it entirely, it was almost a pleasant experience once that strange frost was gone. When the bell rang in the end of class, he gathered his things alongside everyone else.

"Now, everyone," Lancer called over the chattering students, "In light of all of you successfully turning in your assignments, I've decided not to give you any homework tonight." Students paused in their escape from the room to give delighted cheers, "We will start tomorrow's class with the piece you would have done, so I expect everyone here and ready to learn."

Meeting the eyes of his two friends, Danny gave them a relieved smile as they beamed at him. Having one less thing they had to do was a small victory in their books. With how smoothly the day was already going, it was shaping up to be one of the nicer days they've had of late. Slipping from the room flanked by Sam and Tuck, he began winding his way through the halls.

"Can you believe that!" Tuck piped up, "Lancer's never that nice!"

"Right," Danny agreed with a smile, "He's normally as lax as Walker. Maybe he's going to finally cut us some slack this year."

"Probably not, with him jumping on us like he did in class" Sam piped up on his other side.

"Yeah," Danny said with a sigh, giving her another apologetic look, "Sorry to get you in trouble like that Sam."

"Its fine, not like its the first time and it definitely won't be the last," she said with a smile, "But you totally owe me a grilled tofu sandwich from Nasty Burger later."

"Yes ma'am," Danny smiled back widely.

"Ugh, so gross!" A lightly accented voice cried distastefully from behind them, "Losers being lovey-dovey shouldn't be allowed in public!"

The trio turned to face the offender, Tuck and Danny with resigned frowns as Sam sported a top-shelf scowl. Voice riddled with sarcasm, Sam fired back, "And women are supposed to be above objectifying themselves with plastic-wrapped personalities and cookie-cutter styles. Yet here you are, Paulina."

"Oh, whatever!" the curly haired teen glared through her fake eyelashes at Sam before tossing her hair over her shoulder, "Come on, Star, we don't want to catch anything."

"Yeah!" the blond copied her friend, "If we stay to long, our clothes will start turning black!" Then they were walking passed with their noses in the air and mocking titters allowing no interruption.

Glaring furiously after them, Sam crossed her arms and grumbled, "All this time and she's still as shallow as a barren pond."

"Its not like her opinion matters anyway," Danny murmured with a small smirk, "We have bigger fish to fry than Paulina."

"Ha ha, very funny Danny," Sam quipped back, turning narrowed eyes on him even as a small smile teased her plum colored lips.

"Speaking of bigger fish to fry," Tuck cut in soberly, fixing his friends with a sharp look "What happened in there? There's no way you got in trouble over some stupid poem, and it wasn't a ghost since nothing showed up on the scanner except Danny."

"Well," Danny started, sharing a quick concerned look with Sam before turning back to Tuck and saying in a low voice, "one of my powers acted up in class."

"What!" Tuck nearly shrieked, earning him startled looks from nearby students and panicked shushing from his companions. Swallowing down his surprise, Tuck turned wide eyes on Danny and repeated in a loud whisper, "What? How did that happen? Which one?"

"Ice," Danny admitted, holding his hands up for them to see as they walked, "There was frost on my hands and it was starting to freeze one of my handouts. I hadn't noticed what I was doing until Sam got my attention."

"Really? I didn't notice the temp drop," Tuck said worriedly, "I was sitting right in front of you, wouldn't I have felt the change?"

"That's what I thought, but you didn't react. Honestly, I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't looked over to see how you were handling the news of your mom's class," Sam joined in on their hushed conversation, giving Danny a worried look as she did so.

"Ugh," Danny groaned softly, running a hand down his face, "Don't remind me. As if it wasn't hard enough to deal with ghosts while at school!"

"Yeah, this really bites," Tuck said sympathetically, "We're even losing our Free Period too."

"I know," Danny sighed, "It was the one time of day we could count on to catch up on sleep."

"Only if a ghost didn't show up in the middle of the day," Tuck complained before lamenting, "And it was also the best time of day to deal with ghosts during school without missing any class."

"How did they manage to keep it from you?" Sam asked, "They normally can't help talking your ear off about anything ghosts as soon as they see you.'

"You tell me," Danny grumbled, "A little heads up would have been nice."

"Look at it this way," Tuck chimed in with a shrug, "At least we found out _before_ your mom just showed up ready to teach."

"True," Danny conceded, trying not to imagine how bad of a day _that_ would have been. "No point in worrying too much about it now. If Lancer's right, we still have a couple of weeks until we have to figure out how to deal with Mom."

"Annoying new classes aside," Sam pitched in, "We really need to find out why your powers acted up like that. Tuck was right, Danny. We should have been able to feel the temperature drop like it always does when your ice powers are active."

Feeling the frown deepen on his face, Danny looked at both of his friends uneasily, "You really didn't notice any change?" They shook their head with twin looks of concern. With a sigh, Danny pushed his hands deep into the pockets of his jacket, "That's never happened before. We'll have to investigate it more at the Fortress."

"Alright!" Tuck cheered excitedly, "I have all sorts of anti-ice gadgets I've been needing to test out!"

"And," Sam said with an encouraging smile, "we can always go ask Frostbite about it if Tuck's tests don't tell us anything helpful."

"Good idea," Danny smiled at his two friends. "We'll get to the bottom of this, but before that, we have to finish with class first."

* * *

What's this? Our feet are wet with PLOT? Haha, couldn't help myself. Yes, we are going into this feet first and I wouldn't have it any other way! If you need a better intro sequence than Ch. 1, I highly encourage you to rewatch the series :)

Full disclosure, I wrote this the day before Butch Hartman posted that video of what new powers he would have given a 10yrs older Danny and I just about died laughing. Way to similar if you haven't seen the video, but I take credit that mine focused on his ice powers AND that I'd written this before the video had even been posted. However, I think his idea for adult Danny's powers to be a fantastic concept. Give his video a watch on Youtube if you haven't yet!

Alright my theory people! Its hypothesis time! Want to take a guess as to what you think happened with Danny's ice powers? Is it simply an overreaction like the trio believe or is something else afoot? Spoilers!: I won't tell you; you'll just have to keep reading ;)

Also! Fun warning for other chapters: I am big on throwing in easter eggs, so keep your eyes peeled for them!

Please R&R! See you in Ch. 3!

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Cites for referenced works:

"The Pit and the Pendulum" by Edgar Allen Poe. Original print by Carey & Hart in 1842. (Great read about how a man survives the spanish inquisition. Its a fictional work, so its not accurate, and I'd focus more on the symbolism & imagery used when referencing this work.)

"Ulysses" by Sir Alfred Lord Tennyson. I do not have the original publication company, but it was written in 1833. (Another good read. Focuses on how Tennyson saw the return of Ulysses (Odysseus) to his home after the conclusion Homer's original work the "Odyssey".


	3. Chapter 3: A Day in the Life (Prt 2)

Alright, my party people, we are on to Ch. 3! If you're still here, I must have done something right lol. Any way, I do want to start by stating that these first several chapters is to show an average day for our teen hero. Things are perpetually crazy for him, basically.

Oh! A reminder (incase the 3 seconds it probably took you to get to the next chapter from the last one was enough time to forget) there are Easter Eggs! As a starter for this chapter, I will let you all know the total number to begin with for this chapter only! When your finished reading, leave a comment with your guesses (what the easter egg is & what the reference is, which could be anything! Anything at all!).

Today's Easter Egg Total: 8

Without further adieu, off you go, hunters!

[I do not own Danny Phantom. All characters and details from the original series belong to Nickelodeon Inc. & Butch Hartman.]

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Chapter 3: A Day in the Life (Part 2)

The quiet ease of the day ended as a puff of chilly mist escaped Danny's lips near the end of their next class. '_It was good while it lasted_,' he thought as he pressed a hand to his face. Leaning to the side to be less obvious, he checked his phone as a pair of texts lit up from the group chat on the screen:

**Sam**: Who is it? Are they close?

**Tucker**: Its a small signature, not close by but in a shopping district. Could be trouble with citizens.

**Danny**: Do you see any of the GHs headed that way?

**Tucker**: Not yet. Looks like ur up big guy.

**Sam**: How close are you to finishing your quiz? Want one of us to go instead?

**Danny**: Im on the last question now. Ive got it. Its just BG anyway. T, keep me posted on any changes.

**Tucker**: Aye-aye Captain!

Locking his phone, Danny turned his attention back to the sheet on his desk. Today they'd had a Pop Quiz sprung on them, but it ended up being pretty simple. Quickly writing a few short sentences beneath the last question, Danny internally apologized for his sloppy handwriting, but he couldn't waste time on keeping it neat. Thankfully, Mr. Falluca was pretty laid back and didn't take points off for illegibility.

As soon as he was up, Danny tucked his pencil in his backpack before getting up from his seat. A few heads turned to look at him before returning to their work and Mr. Falluca looked up in vague surprise. It wasn't normal for a student to disrupt the silence that came with Pop Quizzes, that is so long as that student wasn't Danny Fenton.

Walking between the desks with long strides, Danny was standing in front of the mousy teacher before he'd had a chance to speak. "I'm sorry, sir," Danny whispered, leaning in as he offered his completed quiz to the bespectacled man, "I've just finished my quiz, but could I use the bathroom?"

"Well," Mr. Falluca said slowly, taking the quiz from Danny's hand and glancing over the answers. In the back of Danny's mind, his attention was following the movement of the ghost just a few miles out from the school at a local department store. It was a trick he'd learned with his ghost sense over the past year. Now he was not only able to tell which ghost it was, so long as he'd met them before, but he was able to sense ghosts at a much greater distance than before and able to track them easily if they were in range.

_'It's only the Box Ghost. No need to be too worried, he doesn't usually do worse than cause a light bit of mayhem_,' Danny thought, attempting to keep himself from fidgeting as he watched Mr. Falluca thoroughly inspect his answers.

Standing there, Danny had a slight realization at just how much he had to look down at the white haired man. During his freshman year, Danny had stood a head above the small teacher. Now, though, Danny practically toward over him. It really shouldn't have surprised him, he'd seen how much taller he was going to get when he'd met his evil self years ago. _That_ Danny had towered over a number of people himself, when he wasn't flying around causing chaos. Swallowing down the sudden apprehension at the memory, Danny felt slightly unsettled at the idea of growing up to be anything similar to that version of himself. Squaring his shoulders, he pushed down the feeling. No matter what happened, he would not end up like that. Even if he got as tall, as built, or even if his voice changed to be like _his_, Danny would never break his promise. Everyday, regardless of how hard it was, he _would_ keep his promise. He _would_ be a hero.

"It seems everything is in order here, Mr. Fenton," Mr. Falluca's thin voice cut through his thoughts, "You may go."

A broad smile spread across Danny's face, "Thank you, sir."

Dismissed, Danny turned on his heel and made straight for the door. Determination and certainty filled him as he set out, like he'd been asleep for a good part of the day until now. Chin held high and shoulders still squared, his mind was already focused on the upcoming confrontation with the Box Ghost. Danny missed the way several students glanced up at him in surprise, or the way Mr. Falluca watched his departure with a disoriented frown.

None of them missed the change in the young man as he slipped from the room with a quiet 'click' of the door. Not the way he moved with confident ease instead of a self-conscious slouch. Nor the keen glint to his usually impassive eyes. Several heads turned to look at the closed door before turning back to their quizzes. This wasn't the first time that this change was noticeable to Danny's classmates, even if he was unaware of its apparentness. Even Tucker and Sam had grown so accustomed to seeing this side of their friend, they hardly noticed the difference themselves. If anything, that made more students curious about him. What could make such a standoffish, reticent student become so self-assured and motivated? Would they ever find out?

The halls had been empty as Danny made his way down the stairs to the bathroom he used to change. It was in the basement level of the school, not something that they used for much more than storage, but students were allowed down there so long as they didn't loiter. With the new cameras the school had put in over the years, it had been harder and harder for him to find places to transform out of sight. And when the teachers started asking where he was, the last thing he wanted was for them to start checking the camera footage and see him disappearing for hours in a broom closet. It was too obvious if the janitor came by and didn't notice Danny supposedly inside. Now he'd taken to using this secluded bathroom. The classrooms down here were mostly used for storage or tornado drills, so hardly anyone came down there other than himself, Tuck, and Sam. Making this bathroom the perfect alibi for his 'vanishing' and somewhere he could go to clean himself up after fights.

Slipping through the door and closing it gently, he tried to minimize the amount of noise it would make. A relieved sigh slipped out of him when it was finally closed. Even after doing this hundreds of times, it was still insanely stressful trying to find somewhere secluded to change into his ghost form. Stepping up to one of the sinks, he met the gaze of his reflection as he unzipped his oversized jacket and shrugged it off his shoulders. He only had a couple more like it, and he didn't want to risk anything happening to them after one was destroyed in a fight with Johnny Thirteen and Kitty some months back. They were some of his dad's old jackets, which made it huge on Danny and perfect for its intended purpose. His dad was going to sell them in a yard sale when it dawned on Danny how he could use them to help him hide the obvious changes in his physique over the years.

It was one thing to go through puberty, but it was like his ghost powers had thrown his into overdrive. In just over a year, he'd grown over a foot taller and was nearly as broad shouldered as one of the football players. Thankfully his voice hadn't gotten too much deeper, but it had its moments. Tuck and Sam took every opportunity to tease him whenever his voice cracked. Sometimes it got deep enough that it startled him, making him think for a moment that his older, much eviler self had somehow returned to reap havoc on his life. Despite all this, it was all something that could be considered normal, even if it was a bit fast.

No, what had concerned Danny was how his ghost-half showed all of the changes as much as his human-half did. As he took a moment to look at himself in the mirror, he noted the various faint scars on his arms, as well as some that peaked beneath the collar of his too-tight shirt. It was bad enough when the jumpsuit fit him this tightly, but now nearly every shirt he wore was snug and hid little of his ever growing muscle tone. When he was a kid, he'd been pretty scrawny and his clothes had hung off of him. It didn't matter how much muscle he did or didn't have. Or if he had bandages from a particularly bad injury beneath the loose fabric. Those days had been much, much simpler.

With a disparaging shake of his head, Danny turned away from the mirror and got into a ready stance. "I'm going ghost!" he said before letting the light of the transformation over take him. In a quick flash, he was no longer the dark haired, blue eyed Danny Fenton. His hair was a shock of white above the blazing iridescent green eyes of Danny Phantom. The classic black suit was fit trimly to his athletic build, grey gloves and boots nearly as bright a contrast as his hair against its dark finish. A compact utility belt was buckled securely at his waste, holding all the essentials from the Fentonthermos to various small anti-ghost weapons made by Tucker. Looped around his hips so that they crossed one another under the utility belt was an additional pair of grey belts, each laden with heavier weapons like short knives and a set of brass knuckles. Tucker had designed things like swords or blasters for him to use, but Danny found he preferred something much smaller and closer quarters with his fighting style. He'd leave the flashy weapons to Skulker or Fright Knight.

Turning himself intangible and invisible, Phantom pushed off the ground hard, rocketing up through the ceiling and rooms above until he rose high above the school. Making a wide loop around the school, he flew a mile away before turning back in the direction the Box Ghost was. Becoming tangible and solid again, he passed the school again as he sped to the shopping district of town. He'd been doing this for sometime, flying in one direction to just fly back over the school from random directions when less threatening ghosts attacked Amity Park. It helped to keep ghost hunters from looking too closely at the school, since it would be suspicious if he was always appearing from there.

Descending on the local Smolmart, Phantom frowned at the various people rushing from the building with panicked screams and shouting. Some saw his approach and called out to him, waving their arms and pointing at the building. Others scattered even more, seeing only seeing another ghost coming to cause further harm. Going intangible, he flew inside the building and paused to take in the situation. More scared citizens retreated out the door below him as plastic storage tubs soared through the air in various directions from the far corner of the store.

"Beware of my impeccable bins of doom!"

"Yep," Phantom murmured with a sigh, "That's him alright." Flying over, he avoided the flimsy containers with ease as he approached the Box Ghost. The ghost in question was now laughing triumphantly as he assailed various stragglers with an army of small cartons. "Hey man!" he called to the ghost, voice reverberating with its ghostly echo, "Do you have any idea what time it is? My free period doesn't start for another two hours."

The Box Ghost turned a startled glare on him, quailing slightly at the sight of the hero before pointing a finger and shouting doggedly, "I cannot be contained by the stipulations of your puny human schedule, Ghostboy! For I am the-"

"Yes, yes," Phantom cut in, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes, "the Box Ghost! Scary as ever, Boxy. Now, if you don't mind, I have a class to get back to."

"Your rudeness will not dissuade me!" Box Ghost shouted back, "Let us see how you withstand the fury of my insulated animosity!" Waving a hand, Box Ghost sent a tidal wave of various coolers and foil-lined boxes flying at Phantom. Letting energy pool in his hands, Phantom blasted some of the larger ones away as he dodged and ducked the onslaught.

"Is this all you've got?" Phantom laughed as he blasted a particularly large cooler, "You'd think you'd have come up with some better material over the years! We both know none of this will work on me."

"Oh yeah?" Box Ghost sneered, "Then have a taste of this!" Throwing his arms over his head, groaning could be heard some distance away. Eyes going wide, Phantom watched as a dozen aisle-length freezers rose into the air around the Box Ghost, their contents spilling out to join the massive floating containers.

"Oh, come on!" Phantom shouted in disbelief, "How do those count as boxes?!"

"They act as the perfect containers for various goods!" cried the Box Ghost, casting his oversized ammunition forward, "And they are an ideal multifunctional rectangular container and the perfect boxes to bring about your destruction!"

"Well, if you wanted to go on ice," Phantom glared at the oncoming mass, gathering the chilly energy in hands, "all you had to do was ask!" Thrusting his hands outward, he entrapped the freezers and boxes together in a tall wall of solid ice.

"No!" Box Ghost cried before turning a furious glare on Phantom, "I will not be thwarted by your petty attempts!" With another wave of his hand, the Box Ghost shouted, "Let us see how you deal with this!"

A heavy pallet of boxed Kloako Cola cans was flung from somewhere to Phantom's right, spiraling through the air as it flew at him, "Isn't it so refreshing for you to you the same tricks each time?" Phantom asked derisively, he twisted nimbly in the air out of the heavy pallet's path, "Classic as it is Boxy, sometimes it just misses the mark."

"Ah!" the Box Ghost asked gloatingly, "but is it merely a classic target for my package of tragedy?"

Shooting the Box Ghost a confused look, Phantom whipped around to follow the trajectory of the hurtling pallet of cola. Crouched beneath a fallen Asther Cost Cookies advertisement, a little blonde haired girl had her eyes squeezed shut as she hugged an old golden bunny plushie. Panic welled up instantly in Phantom as he shot toward the small figure, plunging passed the pallet. Triumphant laughter came from above, but he paid it no mind, landing heavily in front of the little girl, causing her to give a startled scream and curl around her toy. Not pausing to console her, Phantom scooped her up in his arms and quickly made them intangible a moment before the pallet of colas crashed down around them. The girl gave another small scream and buried her face into his chest, still clutching her little bunny tightly.

When the sounds died off, Phantom stood with her in his arms then pushed off hard in the direction of the store's exit. Still intangible, he flew them straight through the wall and into the daylight beyond. Finally out in the open air, he turned them tangible once more as he approached a line of police and First-Responders that had formed around the store front.

"Its alright, your safe now," he said softly to the little girl in his arms, rubbing her small back gently. Nervously, she raised her blue eyes to his before looking around them. With a squeak she stared wide-eyed at the blue sky and ground approaching below them.

"We're flying!" she marveled, her blonde pigtails swirling in the wind.

"Yeah," Phantom laughed, pulling her attention back to him, "perks of being a ghost."

She stared at him for a long time as he descended, making him wonder if he'd said something wrong. Landing gently in front of the nearest officer, Phantom knelt so as to place the girl on her feet. Letting go of her, he gave her a smile as she stood staring at him, uncertain of what else to do. Most people either panicked or chattered excitedly when he saved them, each resulting in him taking off again to avoid a complicated situation. No one had just stared at him like this. Usually when anyone stared it was closely followed by threats or a blast from an ecotblaster.

_'But she's just a little girl, maybe she was still too shocked over what had happened to respond like normal people in this situation_,' Danny thought. Frowning slightly, he turned to look up at the approaching officer from where he knelt. Their expression was tense and borderline hostile, openly concerned about the child he'd appeared with and what he could be doing with her. '_Probably better I leave before they get to us.'_

Small fingers touched his cheek and he flinched slightly, his eyes meeting the small blonde's as she stared at him. The little girl looked thoughtful for a moment before blurting out, "Your eyes a really green!"

A moment of baffled silence passed before a snort of relieved laughter escaped him, "Yeah, they really are! All the better to see with," a broad smile split his face as he answered with a wink. The nearest officer was only steps away, one hand reaching toward the little girl while the other was placed firmly on their weapon. Definitely not friendly. Standing quickly and backing a few steps away from the little girl, Phantom held his hands up placatingly, "I found her in the store alone. She was almost caught in the crossfire, so I thought it was better to bring her out here." Pushing off the ground so that he started to float away, he continued, "Maybe you can find her family."

The officer knelt down behind the little blonde girl, who stared up at Phantom with a smile. Then she hopped forward out of the officer's reach, waving up at Phantom as he floated away, "Thank you for saving me, Mr. Ghost!"

With another smile, Phantom waved back at her, "Sure thing! And call me Danny, Danny Phantom!" Then he turned and shot back toward the store, turning intangible and slipping through the wall as the little girl shouted words of good luck after him. By now it seemed that most of the citizens had made it out of the areas most affected, but some were still making their escape from other parts of the store.

The Box Ghost seemed to have moved from where he'd been near the back of the store, having moved to the bakery and fresh produce section now. Various boxes of all sizes swirled around him as he laughed at the last of the fleeing civilians. "Taste the wrath of my powdered sweets!" the Box Ghost cried as donut boxes surged to bombard a fleeing couple.

Dropping between the incoming projectiles and the innocent pedestrians, Phantom glared up at the Box Ghost, "You've really done it this time, Boxy."

"What is this?!" the Box Ghost cried, "I thought you had been crushed beneath my crate of annihilation!"

"Firstly," Phantom said as he blasted various boxes with his ectorays, "It was a pallet of smaller boxes, not a crate. Secondly, do you really think I could be stopped with something as simple as that?"

"Enough!" the Box Ghost exclaimed, "I will not stand to be ridiculed for my knowledge of shipping materials! I will bring an end to you and have you fully understand the power of my boxes by trapping you in a casket of woe!" Bright light surrounded the ghost, filling the air as he yelled with effort. Every rectangular object in the vast store rose into the air, blocking out most of the lights and casting the building into shadows. With a final shriek of effort, the Box Ghost flung his arms forward, sending his collection of ammunition flying forth.

"Its about time I ended your sloppy restocking. Let's see how well your boxes hold up against this," Phantom countered with a determined glare. Bracing himself, he sucked in a deep breath and built his energy up in his core. Just when the deluge of boxes was about to crash into him, Phantom released his pent up energy on a violent howl. The sound reverberated against his teeth and filled the space around him, causing everything to shudder with each wave of his Ghostly Wail. Once the waves hit the oncoming blitz, the boxes were thrown back in various directions losing their integrity and falling into pieces. In the distance, Phantom could just hear the Box Ghost's anguished cry around his own thunderous wail. Only once the building itself started to groan and shudder under the onslaught did he end the attack, sucking in a few deep breaths as he steadied himself on a nearby shelf. Over the years he had gotten better at using the Ghostly Wail, being able to manipulate how long he could use it and how intensely. It had given him the advantage of being able to maintain his ghost-form after using the attack, something that had nearly cost him his identity multiple times in the past. However, using it still came with a price.

Standing upright, Phantom took in the carnage of the store, now riddled with damaged goods and destroyed stands. Hardly anything was left untouched after the Ghostly Wail. Letting out a winded sigh, he floated to where he could see the Box Ghost's feet poking out from a pile of rubble. Reaching down and gripping his ankle tightly, Phantom pulled the ghost easily from the pile with a grunt. The Box Ghost was down for the count, however, his eyes closed tightly as he groaned.

"Guess that puts an end to the witty banter," Phantom commented to himself hoarsely, dropping the unconscious ghost back on the ground. Pulling the Fentonthermos from his belt, he fired it up and quickly sucked up the ghost before he had a chance to recover. Tucking it back in his belt, he flew over the wreckage of the store, taking in a bit more of the damage. A good portion of the store was a mess, the entire freezer section was destroyed, a large portion of boxed goods were strewn about. Phantom's Ghostly Wail had destroyed a large portion of boxes that had been used against him, leaving them blanketing the store with their mangled pieces.

_'I should try to come back and help fix some of this_,' he thought with a guilty frown, '_With any luck, the Box Ghost will be able to repair most of the boxes.'_

Over the past year or so, he'd been able to figure out how to restrain ghosts with Ectobinding and then was able to 'motivate' them in helping correct some of the damages they caused when rampaging through the city. Not only did it help lessen the negative effects these fights had, it helped to discourage ghosts from coming back and causing more trouble anytime soon. If they did, they were usually there to cause Phantom himself trouble, not to cause damage or harass citizens. That way if they failed, they wouldn't be forced to help clean up their mess. Although, sometimes it seemed some of them needed a review of that lesson.

Turning himself intangible and invisible, Phantom flew through the ceiling and off through the sky toward the school. Eventually, the First-Responders and employees would go in to investigate and see if the fight was over now that there wouldn't be anymore sounds. Then they would see the damages and start the process of recovering what they could, along with helping any of the victims. News vans were parked just beyond the line of police, reporters and camera crews set up and addressing unseen audiences. As much as Phantom wanted to help with the clean up effort now, he needed to get back to class. He had Trig homework to turn in and he was already going to be late.

* * *

Whoo! Wasn't that fun? First fight down! hahaha. How went the hunt? Remember to leave a comment with your guesses! I'll begin next week's chapter with the answers to the Easter Egg hunt, so you have time to keep searching if you didn't find them the first time.

And for anyone super confused about the texting dialouge, yes things are misspelled and the punctuation is bad. In ye' olden days of flip phones and nokias, we didn't have that novel thing known as 'auto correct' lol. Abbreviations were used to simplify rapid texting between friends. Tucker will have a little more updated tech with his knowledge, thus his typing and responses will often be more grammatically correct.

It has been so much fun writing this! For these chapters, the song "Still Here" by Digital Daggers was perfect for writing this (along with a few others). As much as I'm not one for writing angst in my works, let's be real, teenagers going into their college years are the epitome of angst in a lot of chases. Now, this isn't a criticism in anyway. Its just life. For kids who are really getting a taste of the adult world for the first time, it can be pretty intimidating and depressing to think about facing it on their own. As someone a little further along the line, keep your heads up! There is always a bright side, even if it isn't easy to see at the moment!

Sound the alarm! TANGENTING. TANGENTING.

Lol I know, how dare I. Anyway, thank you for reading! Look forward to Ch. 4 next Saturday. Please R&R.


	4. Chapter 4: A Day in the Life (Part 3)

Hi everyone! Its nice to see that a number of people have started reading this :) I hope you all have been able to enjoy it so far.

Just as a note for why the chapter titles for Ch. 1-4 haven't been changing, and won't be for the next several chapters: The original chapter of "A Day in the Life" was going to be a single chapter to follow the re-introduction to the story of Ch. 1. This original chapter turned out to be over 25k words all on its own and took a large portion of time to write and edit. Now I'm an advocate for extremely long chapters, but if I did uploads of this size then y'all would only be getting chapters once a month. Personally, I like staying active with a consistent upload cycle, so the large chapters from the original draft will be broken up into parts.

Now, for those of you who may have participated in the Easter Egg Hunt of last week's Ch. 3, here are the results:

1\. Smolmart = Walmart

2\. Kloako Cola =Coca Cola

3\. Asther Cost Cookies = Esther Price Candies

4\. "Little Blonde Girl" = FNAF 6 Easter Egg (victim)

5\. "Old Golden Bunny Plushie" = FNAF 4-7; Girl's relationship w/ this Character

6\. When the girl stands "staring" at Danny = Get it? Dead people don't need to blink lol (Cuz she is dead in her own story)

7\. " 'Thank you for saving me, Mr. Ghost!' " = *FNAF Spoilers* The girl's soul was 'saved' supposedly in FNAF by the Puppet to become an animatronic herself. Which works since Danny has a black suit similar to the Puppet's

8\. "Addressing an unseen audience" = that's referencing all of you! A lot of media outputs address audiences that they may never see or interact with directly, which in its own way is similar to the way fanfics like this reach fan-bases within various countries.

And that concludes the list of Easter Eggs from Ch. 3! If you'd like another round of "Find the Easter Eggs with Era", leave a comment! Enjoy the chapter!

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Chapter 4: A Day in the Life (Part 3)

Tiptoeing into the classroom with his head ducked, Danny tried as best he could to slip in unnoticed. Normally, Mr. Woelinski was busily droning on at the front, writing on the chalkboard and referring to a notebook in his hand with his back turned to the class. So long as Danny didn't make a lot of noise or someone didn't call him out for being late, he could slip into his seat unnoticed and act as though he'd been in the class from the start. It wasn't uncommon for Mr. W to miss students when taking attendance. But the sound of Mr. W's droning voice was not what greeted him as he slipped into the room this time.

"Late to class I see, Mr. Fenton. Shame to see your new record soiled so early in the school day."

Startled, Danny turned to meet the accusing glare of Mr. Lancer standing in the front of the room. A couple dozen heads were turned to look at him, including the concerned faces of Tuck and Sam around his usual seat. Dropping his gaze to the floor, he tried to hide the embarrassed shame he felt at Lancer's stinging words. He wasn't wrong, but it wasn't pleasant to be reminded of the negative effects his responsibilities had on his academic life. Swallowing, he hoped Lancer would let him take his seat without providing an excuse. His voice was still raw from using his Ghostly Wail so strongly earlier and he figured little more would come out than a gruff croak if he tried to speak.

"Nothing to say for yourself?" Lancer asked. Danny could feel the reproachful look the Vice Principal was giving him, waiting for an excuse that would obviously be a lie. Swallowing again against the dry soreness of his throat, he gave a curt shake of his head in answer as his hands fisted themselves in his jacket pockets.

"Seems not," Lancer observed coolly, "Well Mr. Fenton, as you can probably tell since I am here, Mr. Woelinski was unable to finish class today due to a family emergency. Since it is my Free Period, I am subbing for him until the end of class. Fortunately for you, that makes this a Study Hall for today and any homework that was due today is now due first thing tomorrow. Since this is the first slip you have made in an otherwise successful morning, I am willing to leave you with a verbal warning. Now take your seat, Mr. Fenton, and make sure you are working on something productive for the remainder of the period."

The relief Danny felt was immense as his gaze flicked briefly to the Vice Principal, who was walking back to the empty teacher's desk. With a silent sigh, he made his way to his desk, Sam and Tucker sending him clear 'What the hell, man?' looks. Sinking into his seat, he rolled his neck, releasing a series of cracks but doing nothing to alleviate the discomfort of his throat. Pulling out a notebook and textbook from his bag, which was sitting next to his desk thanks to his friends bringing it from their second period, he began rifling through the contents absentmindedly.

The screen on his phone lit up in his pocket, announcing the inevitable questions. Taking it out, he flipped open the screen to the group chat and read:

**Sam:** Hey, are u ok? U look pretty worn out.

**Tuck: **Yeah man, we tried to warn u about Lncr but you didn't read the txt.

**Danny: **Thanks, I feel fantastic. Really tho, I'm fine. BG was just more determined than normal today

**Tuck: **What happened?

**Sam: **What happened?

Danny snorted quietly as he received the identical texts at the same time. With a small shake of his head, he wrote down a few lines of notes on the page before answering.

**Danny:** Did a number on SMrt. Tore up the place pretty badly. Lots of potential inj to civs. Had to use GW to deal with it. Going to be sore for a bit.

**Sam: **Bad enough to use GW until your voice is almost used up? Never thought BG had it in him

**Danny:** Right? I must have been going too easy on him recently

**Tuck: **Still, if even BG is getting stronger, we will need to be careful of the others. Who knows what they are coming up with next

**Sam: **Right but there is only so much we can prepare for

**Danny: **S's right, we can only do so much. Trying to counter every possblty b4 it happens isn't going to help. BG was just stronger than norm & dragged civs into the middle of it. I underestimated him & it got a little out of hand.

**Tuck: **yeah…are you going to go back later?

**Sam: **how bad r u feeling?

**Danny: **Like I drank fire. Should try not to talk for a while. And yea, gonna make BG help me clean up the mess. /sigh

**Sam:** good idea for both. We can tag along too to help.

**Tuck: **oh yeah!

**Danny: **Thanks guys. It'll be nice having back up if anything happens, but I may try to go during our FPrd. Try to help out sooner than not

There was several minutes of radio silence from his friends. Soon enough, Danny felt himself dozing off as he tried to concentrate on the chapter, his pencil drooping against the notebook paper. Head nodding against the hand he leaned against, he was just about to give up and lay his head on the desk, at risk of Lancer's scolding, when something solid lightly tapped against his elbow.

With a deep inhale and narrowed eyes, Danny rounded on the contact with a disgruntled and tired glare. Sam smiled sympathetically at him, twisting her wrist to draw his attention to the full water bottle she offered him. Taking it from her, he gave her a small smile of his own before cracking open the lid and drinking eagerly. The cool liquid was soothing on his parched, overworked throat. When the bottle was mostly empty, he took in a long breath and silently enjoyed how much easier it was to do so. Replacing the cap on the bottle, he turned his attention back to the lit screen of his phone:

**Sam:** Feel better?

**Danny: **Much, thanks

**Tuck: **It sucks Lncr was here today. If Mr. W were here, you could have slipped in no problem.

**Danny:** yeah, but at least it means I didn't miss anything. & didn't have to turn in the Hw

**Sam:** Plus, this means we don't have Hw for this class too! We just have that Ch. from Mr. F so far

**Tuck:** Oh right! Nice!

**Danny: **No kidding! Now, if I can just get that clean up done with BG during FPrd then we might actually have extra time this evening

**Tuck: **And more time to test those new gadgets too!

**Sam: **Haha right. Just be careful not to jinx us

Class ended fairly normally with the exception of Mr. Lancer reminding them to have their Trig homework ready to be turned in during tomorrow's class. Gathering their things and slipping into the bustling halls, the trio slipped over to Danny's locker to empty their bags before going to Tucker's locker to pick up their Spanish things.

Before they had to maintain their intense routine of ghost fighting, they would have left their things in their respective lockers and picked them up on their way back to class. Now, they rarely had the spare time after their Free Period to make it to class on time, let alone have time for any pit stops along the way. Of course, that didn't help when the trio had to change clothes or Danny needed patching up before they could go to class.

With the ease of long practice, the trio slipped amongst the other students who all made their way to the cafeteria. Laughter and light rough-housing filled the halls as students met up with friends and began sharing the new gossip of the day. Taking his usual care to keep his head down and shoulders slumped, Danny led the way through the line and to the various food options. Soon enough, they were through the line and heading for the double doors to the outdoor eating area. Turning to a patch of grass just behind a clump of trees to the side of the main picnic area, the trio settled down and began digging into their lunches.

"Wow," Tucker murmured around a mouth full of burger, "we only have half the homework as usual and we managed to give Dash the slip for his daily lunch harassment." Pumping a fist in the air, he cheered, "Today is awesome!"

"If you ignore Lancer's added hounding, Mrs. Fenton working at the school in a couple weeks, the Box Ghost becoming more of an issue, and Danny's potential frost problem," Sam listed off sarcastically, ticking each point off with black nailed fingers, "then yeah! Today is going pretty well."

"Quit being such a Debbie-downer!" Tuck chided with a roll of his eyes, "You gotta take the little wins when you get them, dude."

"Like how there aren't any ghosts to interrupt our lunch today," Danny croaked around a mouth full of sandwich. His friends gave him concerned frowns over their food when he coughed and drank some water to soothe his still tender throat.

"My point exactly," Tucker continued matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, yeah," Sam sighed, "Take the wins as we get them. How are you feeling, Danny?"

"A little less like I swallowed fire and more like I would have after a long Dumpty Humpty concert."

"So less like death and more crazed-fan hungover," Tuck clarified around another bite of his burger.

"Yep."

This earned him twin snorts of laughter from his friends as a grin broke out on his own face. Once the laughter quite down, they sat in companionable silence for a bit as they ate. Danny finishing his food far before the others, so he stretched out on the cool grass as he waited for them to finish. Folding his arms under his head, he closed his eyes and listened to his surroundings. The occasional bird song melded with scattered conversations from the picnic areas, this accompanied by the faint rustle of leaves above created a low relaxing blend of sound that he slowly lost himself in.

A hand shook his leg, stirring him from his slow dozing. "Danny," Sam's voice was low and gentle, familiar enough not to startle him out of sleep.

Groaning softly in protest to having to return to consciousness, Danny rolled onto his side and rubbed at his eyes. "How long was I out?" he asked, his voice low and rough with sleep.

"Lunch is almost over," Tuck said from somewhere by Danny's head. Pushing himself up, he cracked an eye open to look at his friend as he continued, "We didn't want to wake you since you seemed to be getting some decent rest for once."

"Do you still want to try and go back to SmolMart to help with the clean up?" Sam asked from his other side.

Running a hand through his hair carelessly, Danny let his still sleep addled mind catch up with the conversation as he yawned into a fist. "Yeah," he murmured with his still sleep roughened voice, leaning his head back against the tree behind him with a sigh, "If I can get it done now, we might have more time later. And, I don't want to have to fight with all the Ghost Hunters that are going to be staking the place out later. It'll already be hard enough as it is."

Mutters of ascent answered him as he pushed himself all the way up and stretched the stiffness from his muscles. A satisfied groan escaped him as a series of pops came from his back and shoulders as he reached his arms above his head. "Sides," he grumbled, "we have a slim chance of getting some decent sleep tonight. Who am I to stand in the way of a good night's rest?"

"Speaking of tonight," Tuck started with a chuckle, "Are we going back to your place?"

"Might be for the best," Danny sighed, "It'll be easier to wrap up patrol and head for the Fortress if we are already at Fenton Works."

"We should probably fill Jazz in on everything that's happened today while we are at it," said Sam. "She'll know most of it from the news, but she should know about your ice hiccup and about your mom's new class."

"Oh, right. I completely forgot about Jazz. She's going to be just as freaked as we were about Mom being around the school so much."

"And you know your dad won't be too far behind if your mom is around," Tuck commented as he thumbed through his phone.

Rolling his shoulders, Danny grumbled in agreement. His parents were nearly inseparable most of the time, so it was unlikely that his mom would be at the school alone. Pushing the thought of having to hide from both of his parents to go ghost, he turned his thoughts on the SmolMart clean-up he was about to undertake. With ghost powers, it really didn't take too much effort to put most things back into order after a fight. No, what took the most effort was the energy it took to hold the ghost responsible captive while they helped with the repairs. Plus, he had to keep a constant eye on them while doing various tasks and watching out for Ghost Hunters on top of it all.

As though she were reading his mind, Sam asked, "Are you going to call Kujo to come help with the clean-up?"

"I'd like to," Danny hummed, finally turning to face his sitting companions, "but last time he helped with a clean-up, it took hours to round him up and take him back into the Ghost Zone. If he helped, he'd just end up making me even more late to class."

"Good point," they chorused back.

"Not to mention," Tuck started with a smirk, "how many showers you would have to take to get rid of the dog drool smell that you'd have afterward."

"Don't remind me," Danny agreed with a shudder as Sam started to laugh. Cracking his knuckles, he took a few steps away from them, pulling his comfortable jacket off as he glanced around for anyone nearby. Just as he was about to toss his jacket to his friends, Sam stopped him.

"Hold on," she had stood and followed him over without him noticing. Standing in front of him, she looked up at him as though she were considering something. With a frown, he was just about to ask her what was wrong when she answered, having seen the expression he made. "Your hair is a mess. If you go out like that, the similarities will be a little to obvious. Now stoop down, you giant."

Nodding, Danny did as he was told. Slouching so that he was more to her height, he twisted his jacket in his hands as he waited for her to do what she wanted to do. Gentle fingers combed through his thick hair, pulling it all in the same direction with quick rhythmic strokes.

"There," Sam said after a couple of minutes, "all better."

Straightening, he gave her a warm smile, "Thanks."

"Your welcome," she smiled back, a light dusting of pink on her cheeks as she met his gaze.

"Lovebirds," a cough cut into the moment, effectively snapping the pair out of their silent staring.

"We are not Lovebirds!" they retorted in unison, turning annoyed glares on their friend as they tried to ignore the twin blushes of embarrassment they displayed.

"Uh-huh," Tucker waved off, still thumbing through his phone. "Only fifty minutes left of our Free Period, dude. If you wanna get this done, you may wanna start sooner than not."

Sobering from his embarrassment, Danny nodded, "Right." Turning back to Sam, he looked down at his red jacket before offering it to her, "Would you mind?"

"Not at all," she said, taking it from him and folding it over her arm, "Now go get'em, tough guy."

Stepping back, he gave her a mock salute and grin, "Yes, ma'am." Raising his head to the sky, he felt his grin go a little wider, "I'm going ghost!" The flash of light came and went in an instant, the transformation swift as Danny felt the familiar material of his jumpsuit on his skin. Catching the wisps of silver hair on the fringes of his vision, Phantom held his clenched hands up as he let the change take full hold.

"Be sure to keep your phone on sound this time," Tuck reminded him, "That way I can give you a heads up if you have any unwanted company."

"Will do," Phantom said with his natural ghostly reverberance, pulling the device out and flipping the switch on the side, "Thanks, Tuck." Picking his feet up, he floated off the ground as he turned to his friends with a broad smile, "Be back in a snap!"

"Ha. Ha," his friends parroted one another with smiles of their own. Facing the sky again, Phantom launched himself upward, going invisible as he made a wide circuit of the school before heading back to SmolMart in plain sight.

* * *

Hi again! I know it was a slower chapter, but gotta have the calm moments when the trio can have them. Anyway, Look forward to Chapter 5 next week! Feel free to leave a comment too!


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